The drop bucks the national trend of increasing inspections and has come under fire from construction union UCATT.

In 2013/14 there were 881 inspections in Scotland compared to 1248 in 2012/13 and 1250 in 2011/12.

Nationwide there were a total of 11,303 inspections in 2013/14 compared with 10,577 in 2012/13.

Harry Frew, Regional Secretary for UCATT Scotland, said: “Construction inspections save lives.

“Without the expectation of inspections, construction employers are even more likely to ignore safety laws which put lives at risk and will lead to more injuries on construction sites.

“The HSE’s budget has been under attack and has been cut by a third since 2010, but that still does not explain why there has been such a sharp drop in inspections in Scotland. Construction workers need to have answers.”

An HSE spokesman said: “Inspection is one of a range of techniques used by HSE for improving health and safety in the construction industry.

“Focusing on inspection numbers gives an inaccurate picture and does not reflect all the work being carried out by HSE across the country.

“In addition to inspection, HSE investigates accidents, cases of ill health, and concerns about unsafe construction activities.

“We also influence in the boardroom and work jointly with industry bodies and trade unions in many other ways.

“There have been long term improvements in the health and safety performance of the construction sector.

“The rate of major injuries  in the construction industry is currently at its lowest level ever, however  the industry remains high risk.

“Everyone has a part to play to further reduce the unnecessary injuries and ill health on construction projects and HSE continues to work with  industry partners, including UCATT, to achieve further improvements.”